Battle Ring Surprises
by CielFury
Summary: Mario and Luigi fight their way through the Battle Medley in Pi'illo Castle, only to find a surprise waiting for them at the end. Contains spoilers from Mario and Luigi: Dream Team and references to Super Mario Sunshine.
1. The Stage is Set

**I do not own anything from Nintendo.**

"Phew," Mario breathed as he came out of the battle with Antasma X. "That was tough. Stupid nightmare zone."

"Bro!" Luigi cried as he caught up with his older twin brother. "You ok?"

"Yeah," Mario said as they waited for the final boss battle in the Battle Medley to start. "I'd forgotten how powerful Antasma X could be. Fortunately, he threw that spinning circle often, so it was easy to dodge."

"Well, we're good now!" said Luigi happily as they checked their HP and BP. "We're in good health, and this secret boss can't be worse than Bowser X, right?"

Mario frowned as he remembered the close call they'd had with Bowser X in their previous adventure; Bowser X liked growing giant and chasing after the brothers often, forcing them to run away and jump over fireballs quite frequently.

"Uh, yeah, I guess."

"Oh, look!" Luigi exclaimed. "It's time to go!" With that, the brothers were warped to their final boss battle.

"…Where are we?" inquired Mario. The landscape looked unfamiliar, something like a nighttime stadium.

"No idea," Luigi said. "Maybe we got transported to the wrong place – AHHHHHHHH!" He cowered, looking up at the figure that had just materialized. A small flying car with an angry face appeared, and a familiar head popped out of the car. Mario couldn't believe his eyes.

"YOU!"


	2. WARNING: Challenger Approaching

"HA HA HA HA!" exclaimed Bowser Jr., breathing fire at nowhere in particular. Luigi freaked out and panicked, while Mario tried his hardest not to laugh but failed miserably.

"YOU'RE the secret boss?" Mario giggled, not bothering to keep a straight face anymore. "And I thought Bowser X was ridiculous…"

"Don't think I'm not a threat!" said Bowser Jr., facing opposite the brothers. "I've got a few tricks up my sleeve!"

"Right," Mario muttered. "Because stealing my identity worked SO well last time…"

"ARGH! That does it! Come at me, Super Coward Brothers! I'm ready for you!" yelled Bowser Jr., steam coming out of his head.

"Come on, Luigi! Let's send this kid back home!" exclaimed Mario.

"…Luigi?" He looked at his brother, who was still panicking. "LUIGI! Oh, come on…"

The battle started, and as Mario's speed was highest of the three, he got to move first. "Brilliant!" He pulled out his secret Bros. Attack, the Zee Egg, and threw it. Instantly, a magnificent bird of vivid colors appeared. "Zeekeeper!"

"'Sup, boys?" said the Zeekeeper, as the brothers jumped on his back. They flew high into the sky; the bird summoned a Zee Egg and the brothers immediately got to work hammering the egg to increase its damage output.

"So who's this little shrimp you're fighting now?" the Zeekeeper asked.

"Bowser's son. He's nothing but trouble," Mario responded, still hammering the egg. "Luigi is scared of him, apparently…"

"No I'm not!" Luigi retorted, also hammering away. "But he was breathing fire at us!"

"And how many enemies have done that already and you didn't panic, besides Bowser?"

"Uhhh…"

"Alright boys! See you later!" the Zeekeeper cried, leaving the scene as the brothers simultaneously hammered the Zee Egg on Bowser Jr. It did considerable damage to him, making him yell out in pain.

"That's how it's done!" exclaimed Mario, as he and Luigi floated down back to earth.

"ARGH! You're making me REALLY mad!"

"Luigi!" said Mario, turning to his brother. "Your turn!"

"NOT YET!" And with that, Bowser Jr. jumped out of his car, brandishing a familiar-looking paintbrush.

_What the…Luigi should move right after me…Well whatever. I'm SO scared of a paintbrush. _"Oh come on," sighed an exasperated Mario, as Bowser Jr. ran toward him. "What, you're gonna attack with crayons next – AHAHAHA!" For some reason, Bowser Jr. started tickling him with the paintbrush. "STOP IT!"

Bowser Jr., grinning mischievously, ran back and jumped back in his car. Mario frowned.

"So that's your counterattack, tickling me? Yeah, I'm REALLY scared now. Alright, Luigi!" He turned to his brother, who was already holding out his Star Rocket. "Your turn!"

"Let's-a go!" And with that, he threw the Star Rocket, allowing the brothers to jump on it and cause even more damage to the small secret boss.


	3. The Discussion

"Uh, Bro?" Luigi said nervously, as the Star Rocket did a 360-degree loop. "You don't think he's like Bowser X, do you?"

"What do you mean?" Mario asked, annoyed that Luigi had mentioned Bowser X again and even more annoyed that he had been tickled by a giant paintbrush.

"Well," Luigi said slowly, as the rocket started to collect stars, "don't you think he might have stolen your Bros. Attack? Remember when Bowser X would counter by inhaling our special moves, and they were inaccessible for five turns? He might have done the same thing."

Mario shrugged dismissively and closed his eyes. "I don't think so. Besides, I would've noticed, and I'm pretty sure nothing's missing."

Luigi didn't say anything; Mario was smirking so confidently that he dropped the subject. He was quite used to getting shot down, but he was SO sure that Bowser Jr. had stolen the Zee Egg. Soon, after collecting all the stars, the rocket made another loop above Bowser Jr. Mario jumped out first and landed on Bowser Jr.'s head, followed by Luigi and a large cluster of stars.

"YEEEOUCH!" yelled Bowser Jr., his head aching from the splashdown damage. "That REALLY hurt! You'll pay for that!" He jumped out of his car, paintbrush at the ready, and started tickling Luigi, who began to laugh. Mario rolled his eyes. _If this is his idea of a counterattack, we're going to win VERY easily._

"Bro!" panted Luigi, after he stopped laughing. "I swear he just stole the Star Rocket!"

"Oh, come on."

"I swear to the stars he did!"

"Yeah, ok."

Soon it was Bowser Jr.'s turn to attack. He flew over to the brothers and threw a Bob-omb at them, then flew out of sight.

"Oh, please," sighed Mario, as he and Luigi began taking turns jumping over the Bob-omb as it circled around them. "This really isn't that bad. I could just – WHOA!" A millisecond before Luigi jumped, Bowser Jr. appeared out of nowhere and spat a flame at Mario, who narrowly jumped over it.

"Bro! You ok – OUCH!" Luigi, startled by Mario's outburst, hadn't been paying attention, and collided with the Bob-omb, which exploded instantly.

"LUIGI!"


	4. An Opportunity Missed

"Ughhh…" Luigi was stumbling and wobbling unsteadily, inflicted with the Dizzy status and unable to move, but he hadn't been knocked out.

"Great," Mario muttered. "There goes my turn…" He pulled out the last Refreshing Herb they had, and threw it to his brother, who immediately cleared his head.

"Owww…my head…"

"Your turn, bro," said Mario, annoyed again at using his last herb and losing a turn.

"Wait, bro! I gotta heal! That Bob-omb hurt, plus I lost a good chunk of my HP and my BP's low too!" Luigi whined. Immediately Mario knew where this was headed and shook his head.

"BIG BRO! Come on!"

Mario shook his head again.

"…Well, I'm not listening to you. It's my turn anyway."

"HEY!" Before Mario could complain, Luigi took their last healing item, a Max Candy, and ate it. Mario rolled his eyes again. _If we lose to this shrimp, I'll never hear the end of it from his father…_

"HA HA HA HA! My turn again! Since you dolts wasted your turns crying over spilled Honey Syrup, I'm on the offense again!" This time, instead of summoning a Bob-omb, Bowser Jr. threw a medium-sized spiked ball at the two, who immediately pulled out their hammers, and ran away again.

"Wonderful," muttered Mario, as he and Luigi took turns in hammering the ball. "He keeps running away every time."

"Maybe he's really scared of us, bro!" cried Luigi happily.

Mario turned to face his brother and was about to roll his eyes for the third time when something unfortunate happened. The minute Mario had turned, Bowser Jr. had rammed him head-on in the Junior Clown Car, knocking Mario backwards into the air. Luigi, who had been preoccupied with the spiked ball, didn't notice until he heard a scream.

"MARIO!"

Unsteady on his feet, Mario hobbled back into the arena, damaged but still very much alive. His face was red and his eyes were ablaze.

"THAT DOES IT!"


	5. I Told You So

Furious that he had been distracted again, Mario was ready to beat the kid to a pulp. "ZEEKEEPER!"

…Nothing happened.

"Huh?" Mario was confused. "ZEEKEEPER! Get back here so I can use the egg again!" Still, nothing happened. "What the heck?" He searched his pockets for the Zee Egg, but couldn't find it. "Where'd it go? I had it a moment ago…" He turned to face his brother, who was wearing a facial expression that looked like a cross between amusement and exasperation. Luigi jerked his thumb toward Bowser Jr., who was wearing a look of unmistakable glee. Mario's temper rose.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

Luigi sighed. "Remember what I said about Bowser X – " (Mario glowered at him but Luigi ignored this) " – stealing our special attacks? He can do the same thing. Every time we use a special attack, he tickles us and steals it."

"WHAT?!"

Luigi sighed again. It was all he could do from giving his older brother an "I-told-you-so" look.

"HA HA HA HA! Maybe you should listen to your brother more often!" taunted Bowser Jr., now juggling the Zee Egg and the Star Rocket between his hands. "I learned it from King Dad! It prevents losers like you from abusing us with the same attacks over and over again!"

"WHY, YOU – "

"Mario, don't waste your breath, just use something else! We can get it back later!"

"FINE!" And with that, Mario pulled out the Bye Bye Cannon and jumped into it, Luigi following shortly after. Three copies each of Mario and Luigi launched out of the cannon and, in twelve aerial attacks, did considerable damage to Bowser Jr.

"ARGHHHHH!" For the third time, Bowser Jr. jumped out of his car with paintbrush in hand, and ran to Mario, but this time, the red-capped plumber was ready.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" The second Bowser Jr. made to tickle him, Mario grabbed the other end of the paintbrush.

"HEY! That's cheating!"

"So is bringing a stolen item from Super Mario Sunshine!" A fierce tug-of-war ensued, neither side wanting to let go of the paintbrush. Luigi stood there, watching curiously while scratching his nose.

"Let go, shrimp!"

"No, YOU let go! It's mine!"

"It belonged to E. Gadd, so it's not yours!"

"NUH-UH! He gave it to me!"

"Yeah, and Princess Peach is your mother."

"GRRR!" Both sides continued pulling, until Mario got an idea.

"Hey Junior, is that Kamek behind you?!"

It was all Mario needed. Bowser Jr. wheeled around, his grip on the paintbrush slackening; Mario tugged the paintbrush out of his hands, lit a fireball, and set the paintbrush on fire.

"OH NO!" Bowser Jr.'s face went fire-red as he stamped his foot, the paintbrush curling into ashes. "YOU JERK!"

"That's for incriminating me on Isle Delfino!"

"I thought Mario had gotten over that," Luigi muttered.

"Yeah, well, good luck getting your special moves back!" Bowser Jr. snarled, jumping back into his car.

Mario blinked. He had completely forgotten about the missing attacks. "Darn it…"

"We'll figure it out, Big Bro!" Luigi said reassuringly, pulling out the Dropchopper. "At least he can't steal our attacks now." He jumped on the Dropchopper, and Mario grabbed his ankles, though his hands were still hot from the fireball.

"YEEEOUCH!" His ankles burning, Luigi fell off the Dropchopper and landed in a heap on top of Mario, the Dropchopper flying away. "That hurt!"

"Sorry," Mario grunted, untangling himself from the mess. "I forgot…" They ran back to the fight, Bowser Jr. waiting impatiently.

"Attack failed much?" he smirked.

"Yeah, well, at least you can't steal it now!" Luigi said confidently.

"Oh, really?" He jumped out of his car again, holding something. Something that looked like…

"ANOTHER PAINTBRUSH?!"


	6. The Challenger's Comeback

"Did you really think I'd come to this fight unprepared?" Bowser Jr. grinned mischievously as he tickled the younger brother, stealing the Dropchopper in the process. "Honestly, I might be a kid, but I'm not THAT stupid…" He advanced on Mario, who immediately took a few steps back.

"Don't make me throw another fireball!"

"Yeah, you can't do that." Before Mario could protest, Bowser Jr. tripped him before stealing the Bye Bye Cannon in the same fashion, leaving both brothers out of aerial attacks.

"Oh, I almost forgot! It's my turn! Time to bring out the pain game!" Bowser Jr. summoned two Shy Guys holding a long, fiery rope.

"Oh no…" Both Mario and Luigi groaned. They knew this too well – a couple of Hammer Bros. had forced the brothers to complete a border jumping minigame before crossing into the Beanbean Kingdom.

"How did you find out about this?" asked Luigi in astonishment. Mario elbowed him in the ribs. "Owww...what? I'm just curious…"

"Your adventure into the Beanbean Kingdom was turned into a movie, remember? I saw the movie (which was really bad, by the way) and saw you guys failing at that minigame! So I decided to revisit old times and make my own version! HA HA HA HA!"

"You – ACK!" Before Mario could utter an insult, the fire rope came from behind and they were forced to jump.

"Just like old times, right bro?!" said Luigi nervously, doing his best to avoid the attack.

"Shut up and DODGE!" Mario yelled, narrowly avoiding getting burnt multiple times.

The Shy Guys holding the rope began to circle around the three combatants, with each doing his best to avoid getting set aflame. The Shy Guys began to circle faster around the three, making them all sweat with nervousness. Bowser Jr. knew the only way to win was to knock at least one of the brothers out. His trick wasn't going to work on Mario, but Luigi was an easy target. And he wasn't going to allow himself to feel guilty about doing it.

"AHHH! LUIGI! A GHOST! BEHIND YOU!"

"WHAT?!"

"Luigi, NO!"

Mario's warning came too late – Luigi turned to look behind him, where there wasn't a ghost in sight. The rope collided with him, setting him on fire.

"OW! HOT HOT HOT!" Luigi tried to put the fire on his rear out, but to no avail, steadily taking damage. The Shy Guys continued to circle around the trio, and since Luigi couldn't move, he kept getting burnt by the flames. As it wasn't Mario's turn, he couldn't do anything to help his brother, and Luigi finally took enough damage to knock him out.

Mario groaned. "Mama mia…"


	7. I'll Protect You

Luigi fainted cold on the arena floor. Mario glared at Bowser Jr. before throwing Luigi over his shoulder.

"That was mean! And unnecessary! Why'd you fake him out?! You know he hates ghosts!"

"Why'd you fake ME out?! Kamek scares the living daylights out of me!"

"Yeah, well, he's my little brother, I've got to protect him! You can't just fake him out like that!"

"I thought I already did..."

"ARGH!" Mario was desperate. They'd already used their 1-Up Mushrooms from the hammer-spamming Pi'illodium, and he needed Luigi to perform their special attacks. He couldn't see a way to win now.

"Give up, loser?!" Bowser Jr. taunted. "Too bad you're not in Paper Mario, your badges could have saved you!"

"Forget badges! All I need is – wait a minute…" Mario looked at his badge effects. They'd filled up to capacity thanks to Mario's perfect Bye Bye Cannon. And the badge effect he'd been stocking throughout the entire medley was…

"HA HA! Thanks for the advice, Junior!" He activated his Mush+Expert Badge, filling Mario's HP while reviving Luigi.

"OH NO!" Bowser Jr. stomped his foot again in a rage, wishing he hadn't said anything. Soon the brothers were back in the battle, Luigi getting ready to attack.

"Uh, bro?"

"Yeah, Weege?"

"Um…I heard what you said," Luigi said timidly, as Bowser Jr. escalated from stomping his foot to a fully-fledged tantrum.

"About what?"

"About me being your little brother and everything…"

"Oh, that? Yeah, well, I've got to protect you, you know! I'm your big brother!"

"I know…but…I…I can protect you too, you know…"

"…Oh…" A silence fell between them, the only sound being the temper tantrum, which fell deaf on their ears. They looked at each other for a moment before simultaneously walking forward and hugging each other tightly.

"I…I care about you, big bro. I wanna help!"

"Luigi," Mario said softly. "You've already done so much! We wouldn't be where we are now without you! You've helped a lot! Don't think you haven't done your part."

"Aw, bro," Luigi started, turning a little red but grateful for Mario's words, "I – "

"HEY! FORGETTING ABOUT ME?!" Immediately they broke apart. Bowser Jr. looked positively livid, now wielding a large hammer.

"Sorry to break up the Hallmark moment, but it's time for you both to LOSE!" He summoned a bunch of Shy Guys who were holding presents in their hands.

Mario frowned. "Hey, wait a minute! It's still Luigi's turn!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," snarled Bowser Jr. as the Shy Guys formed a circle. "I guess I counted your brotherly love time as Luigi's turn, since that's the only thing he's good at."

"YOU JERK! How DARE you insult my brother like that!"

"Let it go, bro."

"But Luigi – "

"Let it go." Luigi smiled reassuringly at Mario, then faced Bowser Jr.

"That's the only thing I'm good at, huh?" he asked, a small smirk forming on his face. "We'll see about that." He gestured to the circle. "These Shy Guys are holding presents, but only one of them is the real deal, right?"

Bowser Jr. narrowed his eyes. "Oh, very good, Pennington! Maybe you're not as weak as I think."

"No, actually, I'm not," said Luigi, his confidence growing. "And to prove that, I'll go first." He walked up to the Shy Guys, hammer at the ready.

"Luigi!"

The younger brother grinned. "Don't worry bro, I've got it under control. Besides," he added, pointing to himself, "they don't call me Dreamy Luigi for nothing."


	8. Almost There?

Luigi circled around the Shy Guys, looking carefully at each one. _Which one of them is carrying a fake? Hard to tell…_ He summoned up his courage and whacked one at random, which fortunately did not have anything dangerous. Bowser Jr. went next, and confidently brought the hammer down on another Shy Guy, which scampered away.

"Alright," Luigi said, making his way back into the circle.

"Uh uh! It's Chubby's turn now!" exclaimed Bowser Jr., pointing at Mario.

"I am NOT chubby!"

"You sure look it…"

"ARGH!"

"Hey, I gotta insult both of you somehow. Dad's expecting a lot from me."

"Yeah? Well why don't you go tell him to stick that stupid paintbrush of yours right up his – "

"MARIO!"

Mario stopped; it wasn't worth the retort. He bit his tongue and walked over to the Shy Guys still carrying presents. Hoping that the odds were in his favor, he smashed one, and was not hurt. The hammering alternated between the brothers and Bowser Jr., until two were left. It was Luigi's turn to swing.

"Ready to LOSE, Green Mario?!" Bowser Jr. taunted.

Luigi frowned. He remembered getting that nickname whenever people couldn't remember his name, and that was frequent. The only person who remembered his name and had never mocked him for it had been Princess Daisy. She was the only person who said his name like it mattered…his stomach did a nervous somersault at the thought of her. _Why AM I always nervous?_ he wondered. _It's not like I'm holding a secret or…hang on a second. _He brought his mind back to the Shy Guys, both holding a present. _What if one of them knows something we don't? _He scanned the two Shy Guys carefully, until he noticed that one of the Shy Guys was sweating nervously. _That's the real deal._

"You're TAKING too long!" Bowser Jr. said impatiently, still holding his hammer. "I think you've given up – YOW!" Luigi slammed his hammer down on the non-nervous Shy Guy as it sped away.

Bowser Jr. groaned. He knew what was in the last box. "Aw shroom…" He slowly brought the hammer down but it didn't lessen the impact – the box exploded, throwing the Shy Guy and Bowser Jr. out of the ring.

"YAY!" Luigi cried. "We've won!"

"I don't think so," said Mario. "I think we'd know if he lost…he should be back any moment now…"

Sure enough, a few moments later, Bowser Jr. reappeared, bruised but grinning triumphantly. "It doesn't matter, losers! I'm going to win!"

"And what makes you so sure?" retorted Mario, already thinking of what attacks to use next.

"Have you checked your turn count lately?"

"What are you talking about – oh no…" Mario checked his turn limit – they were at Turn 45, the last possible turn to move. "Shoot!"

"HA HA HA HA! It's all over! Sayonara, losers!"


	9. The Last Stand

"Wait!" cried Luigi. "I still have to move, remember? You went before me and I hadn't used my turn yet!"

Bowser Jr. sighed. "Fine, whatever! It's not like you have anything powerful left to attack me with anyway!"

He was right – their strongest attacks had been their aerial attacks, which had all been forcibly stolen. Their other ones were subpar at best. Luigi sighed. _We're going to lose…and it's all my fault…_

"Luigi?"

"Yeah, bro?" Luigi turned to look at his brother, who was looking down, apparently thinking hard.

"You trust me, right?"

"Wha – of course I trust you, why wouldn't I?" A silence followed.

"…You REALLY trust me, don't you?"

"I don't get it…"

Mario looked up; Luigi saw a mischievous glint in his blue eyes that could only mean one thing – Mario was about to do something completely reckless that could cost them the match and their lives.

"Uh, bro? What are you thinking of doing?"

"You're courageous, right?"

"…Bro?"

"You're really brave…"

"…Mario?"

"Right?"

"Well, yeah, but – HEY!" Mario rushed over to his brother and threw him over his shoulder again. "PUT ME DOWN! MAAAAAARIOOOOOO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Mario didn't say anything and faced the Junior Clown Car, which had been unoccupied since the failed Dropchopper attack. "MARIO!"

"Be brave, Luigi! I know you can do it!" And with that, Mario threw Luigi into the car before jumping in himself.

"NO NO NO NOOOOOOO!" yelled Bowser Jr. as he started to run away from the car. The car automatically started to chase the young Koopa around the arena.

"START THROWING!" cried Mario, and he and Luigi searched the car and began to throw various items at Bowser Jr. – spiked balls, Koopa shells, Bob-ombs, Mecha-Koopas, iron balls, hammers, wrenches…and their stolen Bros. Attacks.

"AH HA!" yelled Mario triumphantly as he threw the very heavy Zee Egg at Bowser Jr. "I knew it was in here somewhere!"

"Mario!" screamed a panicked Luigi. "The car's short-circuiting! We've got to jump out before it explodes!"

Nodding at each other, they jumped out at the same time as the car flew right into Bowser Jr., exploding and causing enough damage to finally defeat the young boss.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" yelled Bowser Jr. as he vanished in a sea of stars. "I'LL GET MY REVENGE!"

The battle medley finally over, the brothers were returned to Pi'illo Castle, their HP and BP automatically restored. Mario carried the trophy they'd won and Luigi, the large sack of gold coins that were now clamoring to be spent. They put their winnings safely away in their hotel room, then began to walk out of the castle, deciding to enjoy a nice, long nap on the beaches of Driftwood Shore.

"Mario?"

"Hmmm?"

"Why'd you throw me into the car?"

Mario blushed slightly. He was hoping he wouldn't have to answer that question. "Well…I figured you might not go along with my idea initially."

"So you had to resort to brute force?"

"Uhhh…" He was turning redder. "No, not quite…"

"Is this how you treat people who might disagree with you?"

Mario shifted uncomfortably, now blushing a deep red, until he looked up and saw Luigi grinning.

"Luigi!"

"Hey, come on," Luigi said merrily. "I was kidding. But that's what brothers are for, right?"

Mario smiled as they walked through Mushrise Park, arms around each other.

"Right."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Please rate and review. I've started writing Mario Party-related fanfics, so please check them out! =)**


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